by Judith Schneider*
Foto-Collage of End Poverty's projects, mainly women educationI guess everyone would rather like their master's thesis to be of practical use instead of getting dusty on some shelf. I am no exception, so I was thrilled to get (together with my colleague Laura Zwicknagl) the opportunity to work out a real-world feasibility study for an Indian NGO called 'End Poverty' (EP) as part of work towards my MSc Responsible Tourism Management. Through our tutor Dr Simon Woodward, Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) at Leeds Metropolitan University, we were put in touch with the chair of EP's mother organisation, the London-based 'GEN-initiative limited'. End Poverty is a team of nine experienced social development professionals and numerous volunteers, who fight poverty in India through education, health care, livelihood- and rural development. GEN uses its UK and international network to provide EP with financial and technical support.
Our task was to research the opportunity to develop village-based responsible tourism in the Tijara Block - a rural area of Alwar, Rajasthan - as a means of creating business opportunities and employment for local community members. From our base in EP's home town of Gurgaon, we had the chance to contact numerous interviewees, including international tourists, school representatives and travel experts from the area. In addition to a programme of around 50 face to face interviews, and to establish likely demand for tourism in Alwar from regional domestic tourists, we used an online snowball survey, with our numerous Indian contacts assisting the survey by forwarding the questionnaires to their friends by email.
The outcomes of our initial primary research were highly positive, showing a definite level of demand from all three target groups – international backpackers, domestic tourists and school groups. And even though findings from our pilot study cannot be seen as representative for the whole population, the insights into customer requirements and concerns are very valuable in terms of directing future development and can also guide further research in this region.
dried cow dung used for cooking fuel. the right 'house' is like a storage where they cut out the dung whenever needed. Usually, they make little paintings on them.The 6-day village stay in the area of operation was clearly the highlight of the trip. We stayed with a family who hosted one of the educational programs for girls that our client EP had launched to reduce the high illiteracy among females. These family members welcomed us with a sincere cordiality and during the whole time of our stay they did everything they could to make us feel comfortable and happy. It was fascinating watching and participating in their slow way of life, which seemed so much more 'real' to me than the daily routines of European city people where traffic, electronic gadgets and consumption are the main factors of daily routine. Methiabaas and the other villages of the Tijara block, where our research was focussed, are dominated by a very rural lifestyle where agriculture sets the rhythm of people's daily activities. In this rather 'romantic' life, women carry water in stoneware jugs on their head in a majestic way, water buffalos are valuable working animals, children play with everything that nature gives them and people have time, so much more time than we do. I started to question: 'Is it desirable to introduce tourism into this idyll which has been lost in so many parts of the world?' 'Would tourism not destroy the cultural fabric of these communities and create a fertile soil for greed, envy and conflict?' Yes, it could; and it had much too often. But, this 'idyll' is not as beautiful as appears on first impression: Some people live in serious poverty, suffering from malnutrition, anxiety about their children's future or hopelessness. Many youngsters leave their villages as a result of the lack of employment possibilities, as in many other parts of the world. Illnesses often can't be treated and children cannot choose to have an education according to their talents.
Of course, one part of our research was a pilot survey of the local population, asking 25 people what they thought about the potential for developing tourism activities in the area, their associated expectations and concerns. Every single person was in favour of such development, looking forward to employment, education and cultural exchange. Just one of them mentioned the concern of rising prices. Sure enough, this shows a high unawareness of tourism-attached negative outcomes or potential risks. But it also shows that these people are keen for change, opportunities and a connection to the 'outside world'. Who am I to judge that they should stay in their level of development?
a class organised by End PovertyAs part of this thesis, literature around existing Community Based Tourism projects was reviewed and the disillusioning small number of successful projects confirmed once more the importance of research, planning and education connected with such a project. Success factors frequently mentioned by experts and experienced practitioners are accessibility, motivated community members and leading personalities, strategic planning and evaluation, education and training, the right choice of partners (out of private and public sector), a good product, appropriate marketing and the linkage with environmental conservation. Developing tourism in rural areas is fraught with challenges.
Tourism might sometimes be seen as THE solution for high unemployment in rural areas but it is definitely not the right way of development for every village. One cannot recommend the launch of tourism to every community who is interested in it, as risks are too high and challenges way too complex. In the particular case of the Tijara block, there does appear to be a positive way forwards because of the area's accessible location, defined definite level of consumer demand and the overwhelming interest of the villagers. Other important factors were the highly supportive NGO, End Poverty, whose members are committed to assist an embryonic tourism project and, at the macro-level, the forecast of a considerable rise in the volume of domestic and international tourism in this part of the world where there are very few direct competitors to the products that might be developed in the Tijara block.
To plan for and deliver successful tourism development in the Tijara block, the possibility of achieving all the success factors mentioned above must be tested through further research, with local people being involved at every step of the way so that they understand the potential outcomes as well as the risks, as evidenced by the high numbers of failure in this sector around the world. Only then, will the communities of the Tijara block be ready to decide if this is the path they want to run and how they can participate in a way to make this path a sustainably successful one.
*Judith Schneider is a recent graduate of the MSc Responsible Tourism Management course at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) of Leeds Metropolitan University (UK)